World-renowned photograph of Armenian origin Ara Guler attended the opening ceremony of the avenue named after him in Shapingarahisar, Turkey.

The decision to rename the avenue was made by the city council.  The council also decided to exhibit a film on the famous photojournalist’s life and works.

Ara Guler made a speech at the opening ceremony saying he is happy an avenue after him opened in his native town. “I am a photojournalist, this is my job. I share my photos with you,” he said.

Mayor of Shapingarahisar stated Guler’s family had emigrated from the city in 1910.

“We wished to open an avenue after Guler for our children to inherit,” he noted.

Ara Guler is a photojournalist of Armenian decent, nicknamed “the Eye of Istanbul” or “the Photographer of Istanbul”. He was born in 1928 in Istanbul. In 1950 he joined the staff of the newspaper Yeni Istanbul as a photojournalist.

In the 1970s he held photographic interviews with such notable politicians and artists as Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and many others.